More Americans = Longer commutes: TRB Study
Due to a spurt in immigration in the 1990s, 33 million more commuters jam U.S. roadways today than a decade ago, according to Commuting in America III, a new report by the Transportation Research Board. All told, 162 million Americans use our roads to get to work, up from 124 million a decade ago. These commuters are among the most time-sensitive (and often, frustrated) highway users. The report notes that the average "rush hour" twenty years ago stretched 4.5 hours; today it exceeds 7 hours a day. "Congestion is the public issue that dominates all others in the new millennium," the report warns.
The 33 miillion new commuters added to a highway system basically the same size as the decade earlier is about 35% more than the usual 25 million per decade rate of commuter growth for previous decades -- largely due to young immigrant workers. While the policy debate over Social Security is focused on the vast hordes of retiring workers, the TRB commuter report notes the "declining influence of the baby boom generation."
Another interesting trend is the continued decline of the "traditional commute" of suburb-to-city. Only 19% of commuters do that. Most commute suburb-to-suburb; about two-thirds of the growth was in this area. One-quarter of commuters are intra-city, but 83% of the growth in commuting is in the suburbs (17% in the cities).
Transit use is flat, but carpooling is growing and four-in-five commuters drive by themselves.
Finally, non-recurring congestion, including weather-related delays, were denoted "Temporary Loss of Capacity" -- so "TLC" no longer means "tender loving care." Clearly, commuters need more tender loving care -- and effective winter maintenance!
